United Methodist Pride!

By Jayson Dobney

I love Pride! 

I first attended a Pride parade after coming out in college and experienced the wonder that a newly out person feels.  But, unlike many of my friends who now think that Pride is passé, Disneyfied, and no longer necessary as GLBT people become main stream and marriage equality becomes the cause du jour.  Not me though, even as I lose some of the awe I felt when I first experienced Pride, I find that I have developed a much deeper spiritual connection to marching in the parade - and it is becoming a highlight of my liturgical year.

Pride changed for me in 2004.  That spring, I had traveled to Pittsburgh for General Conference, and returned to my home (in New York at that time) confused, disheartened, and discouraged about staying in the United Methodist Church.  As Pride rolled around in June of that year, I was still trying to figure out if I was going to stay involved in my church.  However, I was intrigued that the church I attended, the church of St. Paul and St. Andrew UMC, was sending a group to march in the Pride parade and I decided to join them.  IT WAS AMAZING.  I cannot describe the emotions that I felt as I marched with my church - with people from all walks of life and all ages, standing up for GLBT rights - and even more overwhelming was to be in a sea of people of all faiths marching in the "religious" contingent.  Literally, as far as I could see up and down 5th Avenue, were people of faith marching.  I felt my heart warm and it is one of the few times in my life that I definitely knew that I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

So this year, as I prepared for General Conference in Ft. Worth and then spent the last several months reflecting on all that happened there, I kept in mind that the culmination of my spring was going to be my opportunity to march once again with my church in New York.  I was not disappointed.  The religious contingent in the parade continues to grow - and this year the United Methodist unit marched as MIND - Methodists in New Directions - a group of reconciling people in the New York Annual Conference and we marched with our brethren from Presbyterian Welcome.  This year there were 5 reconciling churches carrying banners in the parade and representatives of many more congregations walking with us.  I know that well over 100 UMs marched in total. The event was truly a family reunion as we broke ranks with our individual congregations and walked and talked - and got soaked here in NYC - with friends from Long Island to New Jersey, Westchester to the Village.  It was a memorable Pride.